Eagles Coach Pederson Says Carson Wentz is the QB Going Forward

Doug Pederson made it clear to the media on Tuesday (January 15th) that Carson Wentz is the Philadelphia Eagles starting quarterback moving forward.

We've all heard the underlying talk by now. Over the past few weeks, with every subsequent win that the 'magic of Nick Foles' would bring, the question would come up from someone, "Who is the Eagles starting QB in 2019?" Coach Pederson was very clear with his answer to the media on Tuesday.

Some are in complete agreement whole-heartedly knowing that your franchise quarterback in the future of the Philadelphia Eagles.

On the other side, you have Nick Foles. The guy who won Super Bowl LII MVP. The guy who helped to win you the last three games to sneak into the playoffs as the sixth-seeded wild card. The guy who helped beat the third-seeded Chicago Bears on their home field to advance to the Divisional Playoff round this year. All these factors had fans clinging to a familiar saying in the NFL, "What have you done for me lately?" (It's also the name of a Janet Jackson song, but that's neither here nor there)

Yes, there's been injuries. He had the broken wrist his senior year of college at North Dakota State. As a lesser known injury, he suffered a rib fracture during his rookie season for the Philadelphia Eagles. In his second year, he suffered a torn ACL in his left knee in Week 14. In his third year, it was discovered that Wentz has a stress fracture in his vertebrae that cause him to miss the remaining three games of the season.

But there's a reason why you drafted Carson Wentz as your franchise quarterback.

There's been the promise shown. As a rookie, he showed flashes of brilliance. In his second year, he would've walked away with the MVP as he threw for 33 touchdowns and just 7 interceptions while having to miss the last three games due to injury. After Foles was ineffective during the first two games this season, Wentz came back from his ACL injury and kept the team afloat with not a lot of help around him.

What may get lost is the fact that he threw for the highest completion percentage of his career at just under 70%, had the highest passer rating of his young career at 102.2, and threw for more yards per game than any season yet with over 279 yards per game. The injury-depleted Eagles (an important factor to consider before Wentz went down with a stress fracture to his vertebrae) were just 5-6 with Wentz as a starter in 2018.

When you look at the full body of work between Wentz and Foles, it speaks for itself. These two have distinctively different throwing styles. Wentz's physical ability and athleticism make more a higher ceiling at the quarterback position in the NFL.

It's likely that we'll see Nick Foles as a starter on another NFL team next year somewhere else in the league while #11 will be back under center taking snaps for the Philadelphia Eagles.